1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed to ground anchor assemblies and, in one embodiment, to an embedded assembly of anchor bolts and anchor plate for attaching signposts, luminaries, and the like to a concrete foundation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Highway signs, luminaries, fences, and guardrails are typically supported on posts that are attached to concrete foundations. The support posts typically have a base that is attached to bolts that are embedded in and extend from the concrete foundation. While the base may be separate from or integrally formed with the post, it is important that the base be plum with the concrete foundation so that the post is supported in a substantially vertical orientation.
Anchor bolts extending from the concrete foundation can be in the shape of a J-shaped bolt in which the curved portion is embedded in the concrete and the exposed straight portion is threaded to receive a fastener, such as a nut. It is critical that these anchor bolts be properly positioned and aligned with respect to one another and to the concrete foundation so that the support post base will properly fit over the anchor bolts and be plum on the foundation.
A difficulty in embedding the anchor bolts during formation of the concrete foundation is maintaining the proper orientation and alignment of the anchor bolts as concrete is poured around them and into the foundation hole or foundation form. When the concrete is poured and then tamped or vibrated into place, these anchor bolts frequently move in the liquid concrete. When concrete sets, the flanged base will have difficulty slipping over the misaligned anchor bolts and may be out of plum. This can make the installation process extremely difficult for installation crews and in some cases require the foundation to be replaced. In other cases, the bolt holes in the base flange will need to be enlarged to accommodate the out-of-alignment studs protruding from the foundation. This usually requires shimming to get the post into a plum position.
One proposed solution is a J-bolt form disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,645 in which a bolt alignment and support device is attached to the top of a concrete form, and the anchor bolts are attached thereto to extend down into the form. Holes formed in the support device allow concrete to be poured therethrough, after which the support device is uncoupled from the fasteners and removed from the form.
While the foregoing design may be satisfactory in some conditions, it requires extra labor to remove the support device. In addition, concrete must be quickly and thoroughly cleaned from the support device so that it can be reused. Moreover, this device can only be used where forms of a certain size and shape allow the support device to be placed thereon. For these and other reasons, the proposed J-bolt form is unsuitable. Hence, there is a need for a template that maintains the anchor bolts in the proper position and alignment and does not require later removal and cleaning.